The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-06-01
MUSKRAT HUNTING.
THREE WAYS OF CAPTURING
THE Willy RODENT.
4 Muskrat's Ncst-ShootinS the Lit
tie Animals at Night-The Trap
per's Misunderstanding the
Destructive Spear.

Inc large area OF marsh lana alOHS lue
PatuXent River and its numerous inlets
form favorite hunting grounds for musk
rats, and they are now being captured in
large numbers. Next to the beaver, the
| muskrat is one of the most ingenious of
rodents in the construction of its houses,
and its mode of life and habits are very
interesting. They select the low river
marsh lands as their dwelling place. and
there they build their houses. A loca-
tion ispreferred which is flooded at high
tide; but which is clear of water at low
cbb, and every creek and almost every
little inlet to the river affords innumer-
able positions that are favorable. After
determining upon the exact position of
their house, the rats burrow leads or
miniature tunnels from the waters edge
at low tide to the spot upon which the
house is to be erected.
Then they set about collecting material
for their dwelling. The tall canes and
coarse marsh grass are cut down and
pulled in place, and the marsh mud is
used as kind of mortar. A large circu-
lar foundation is laid, and the ground
floor arranged on a level with the leads.
This completed, an upward lead is made
like spiral stairway to the second floor,
which is made into room similar to the
first, but of less circumference. A third
and sometimes fourth floor is built with
the spiral lead running from the level of
the marsh to the top of the house, each
succeeding room being of somewhat less
diameter up to the roof or dome, which
acts as water shed. The height of each
floor from the level of the marsh is regu-
lated by the successive heights reached
by the tide, the top floor being always
higher than the highest water mark at
flood tide. The rats are social in their
habits, anda at extreme low ebb, when the
accommodations are greatest in the
houses, quite number may be found in
the same hut. At food tide fewer are
found in any one house, as the accommo
dation is limited then only to the upper
stories, which are free of water, but these
are all the more easily secured by the
hunter.
There are three ways by which the
rats are captured: By shooting, by trap
ping, and by spearing. A few may be
secured at night by creeping as noise
lessly as possible along the creek edges,
and watching for them to crawl up on
the bank to feed In this they are very
dainty. Having secured favorite root,
they approach cautiously the water edge
and dip it in and rub off the mud, dip it
in again and again until it is perfectly
clean and suited to their taste, when it is
eaten with evident relish, provided the
sportsman is sufficiently interested in the
process to wait. A boat, however, is
usually used, as the rats can be more
easily and quietly approached on the
water. In this case two persons occupy
the same boat, the sportsman requiring a
pusher, as in the case of ortolans. As
this sport can only be engaged in at
night, the sky must be comparatively clear
in order that the sportsman may have the
advantage of the moonlight, or, better
still, bright starlight. A headlight with
the bow of the boat, and this arrange
ment is frequently quite successful during
the darker nights to one sufficiently well
acquainted with the hunting grounds.
Trapping is another of the modes by
which the rats are secured. The traps are
made of boards about six inches wide
and three feet long. These are nailed
together like an ordinary box trap, the
open ends being secured by swinging
doors of wire network, fastened to the
upper part of both entrances. These
doors allow easy ingress to the trap, but,
once in, the rat cannot get out without
opening the door by pulling it to him,
which secret they seem very slow to dis
cover. These traps are put in the leads
running from the houses to the water
when the tide is at low ebb, and the rats
arc out feeding. On the return they crawl
up the leads, push against one of the
wire doors of the trap, which immcdi
ately opens into the trap, but he cannot
60 farther, as the next door opens to-
ward him. Before he can gnaw out,
the tide makes up and he is drowned in
the trap By having number of traps,
and watching the tides closely, trapper
can capture large number in this way.
The most destructive mode of capture
is by spearing. Four or five rods of iron
three or four feet long are secured in a
cross section frame of wood or iron and
their points are we'll sharpened, and with
this the hunter approaches the rat house
as quietly as possible, as the inmates are
constantly on the alert, and if alarmed
will quickly run down their spiral stair
way and run out into the leads. Stepping
to the side of the house. he rushes up over
it and plunges the spears down through
it as far as he can push them. With
pick he pulls the house to pieces, and fire.
quently finds two or three muskrats, and
sometimes more, imraled by the spears.
This destructive method is, however, not
looked upon with favor by sportsmen, rs
it tends to drive the rats away
from the more accessible parts
of the marsh. The muskrat is some
what similar in appearance to his
dry land cousin, but is incomparably
larger. The brown muskrat, which is
larger than the black muskrat, when full
grown will measure twelve or fourteen
inches from the tip of the nose to the
root of the tail, and his rat-like caudal
appcndage sometimes attsinsa length Of
eight inches. Muskrat skins are valuable
for their soft, glossy fur, and are bought
by traders at from six to ten cents each
and sold to furriers. The flesh of the
muskrat is said to he quite palatable, and
it is sometimes eaten. These river rats
are specified by peculiar kind Of musk
inclosed in little fatty sack just under
the skin in the lower part of the body.
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